Cooling Water

KEMA provides consultancy services to help balancing industrial activities and lowering the burden on surface water

Less than 0.6 percent of all the water on this planet is available as fresh surface water in rivers, lakes, ponds and ground water. We all use this water to grow our crops, run industrial processes and at home to take shower or cooking our daily meals. The variety of these (human) activities has also impact on the environment. Numerous measures have been taken, sizeable reductions have already been achieved, and more and more international agreements are in force to reduce emissions.

Fighting micro and macro fouling
Both micro fouling (biofilms) and macro fouling (mussels, hydroids, et cetera) have to be mitigated in order to ensure the continuous operation of the cooling system in all kinds industrial production processes. Too much fouling in the cooling system can impair its performance and lead to physical damage in the construction. KEMA employs know experts in this field of expertise and offers its services all over the globe.

Pulse-Chlorination®
Chlorination of cooling water is still the most commonly applied method used against fouling. The species to mitigate are mussels, hydroids and barnacles. In 1998 KEMA developed a new regime of chlorine dosing called Pulse-Chlorination®, combining optimal anti fouling results with the lowest amount of Sodium-hypochlorite. At the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) meeting in Sevilla (Spain, 2000), Pulse-Chlorination® was declared as BAT (Best Available Technology). At this moment Pulse-Chlorination® has been successfully applied in South-Korea, Singapore, Australia, Qatar and the Netherlands, reducing chlorine use up to 80% and millions €/$ of (re-)investment costs. Pulse-Chlorination® is based on the principle that in general mussels and clams have a recovery period before full opening and start filtering after exposure to a chlorination period. The method takes advantage of this recovery time by using short successive periods of chlorination, alternating with periods without chlorine. As a result of the decreased chlorine usage, the impact on the environment reduces significantly.

KEMA Mussel Monitor
Nowadays the Mussel Monitor® is used by KEMA in water quality surveillance and for optimization of anti-fouling procedures, like Pulse-Chlorination® in industrial cooling water systems.

KEMA Biofouling Monitor®
Monitoring of settlement and growth of unwanted organisms and the efficiency of mitigation procedures applied is an important issue in cooling water fouling control. KEMA has developed a monitor, the KEMA Biofouling Monitor® (KBM), in response to the demands of plant operators. The monitor is connected as a by-pass loop in the cooling water system and duplicates the fouling patterns of mussels, oysters, barnacles and hydroids in the system. The result is a well-defined fouling sequence in the monitor, which allows detection at an early stage, permitting enough time to take counter measures. Applications:
- anti-fouling treatment effectiveness monitoring
- continuous fouling sequence monitoring during the seasons
- testing of coatings and new anti fouling applications
- use in eco-toxicological studies.

BioGEORGE™
Fouling by micro-organisms (biofilms) in cooling-water systems is one of the most important causes of losses in heat transfer leading to decreased plant performance and there is also the risk of corrosion damage by Microbiological Influenced Corrosion (MIC). The BioGEORGE™ on-line monitoring system registers the actual status of the formation and activity of a biofilm and provides an early warning of unsatisfactory conditions. As a result, it is possible to optimize the biocide dosing applied by providing feedback directly to the operator.

Deposit Accumulation Testing (DATS) Monitor
The DATS™ monitor provides vital information regarding performance degradation, chemical efficacy and economic losses due to chemical/biological fouling. The tube alloy and dimensions, heat flux and flow velocity of process equipment automatically calculate the heat transfer resistance. Changes over time accurately reflect the accumulation of the fouling deposit. The system is used to evaluate the performance of the condenser in order to optimize the applied water treatment for optimal heat exchange. Using the DATS™ allows you to analyze fouling for specific process conditions, and generates information necessary for efficient fouling management programs.